BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI
The family of a Hwange girl, who died on Monday, a month after she was burnt by underground coal fire near a dumpsite, is appealing for funds to bury her.
Alisha Sekina Muzviti, a Grade 2 pupil at Makwika Primary School, died at Mpilo Hospital in Bulawayo after a blood transfusion to treat the third-degree burns she suffered while relieving herself near her family home.
Her distraught father Andy Muzwiti told VicFallsLive that the family cannot afford the burial costs because Alisha’s treatment and the death of her sibling recently had drained their coffers.
“Her body will be kept in a mortuary there until we raise funds for her coffin, but for now, we hope to be assisted by the community members to purchase the coffin and fund other burial logistics such as transport, parlour fees and food for mourners, among others,” Muzviti said.
Meanwhile, the Hwange community led by Bulawayo-based entrepreneur Morris Mpala is mobilising resources to assist the family through mobile Ecocash transfers.
In a Hwange Central Constituency WhatsApp group, Mpala said the donations will go towards funeral expenses.
He said donations should be sent to his mobile Econet number 077 225 6235.
Those who want to send the money directly to Muzviti can do so through his Ecocash number 078 543 7185 or 0777 739 5526 for his wife Ethel.
The family and Hwange residents are blaming the Hwange Colliery Company Limited (HCCL) for the girl’s death because they say the dumpsites are not properly covered.
HCCL, however, insisted that the victims of the underground fires are trespassers who should not have been anywhere near the dumpsites.
Muzwiti has threatened to take legal action against the giant coal miner, arguing that its failure to secure the dumpsites exposed his daughter to danger.
Some Hwange residents have died while others were left nursing permanent injuries after stepping on the hot surfaces at the dumpsites.